Bahasa Malaysia (Malay) is the official language, although English is widely spoken and is used widely along with Malay in Government and in business. Bahasa Malaysia is the main medium of instruction in national schools, although under a recent policy change English is being introduced for the teaching of Mathematics and Science.

Most Malaysians are at least bi-lingual, and many speak more than two languages. In addition to Bahasa Malaysia, other languages spoken in Malaysia include Chinese dialects, Tamil and indigenous languages such as Iban (Sarawak) and Kadazandusun (Sabah).